Twister sequel Twisters in development at Universal with The Revenant screenwriter attached
- Universal and Amblin Entertainment collaborate on Twisters
- Sequel Will Follow Helen Hunt’s Child and Bill Paxton Characters
- Mark L. Smith’s screenplay is a hit with original producer Steven Spielberg
- Studio hopes Hunt, 59, will return to acting
- The original was a huge hit and starred Philip Seymour Hoffman
A sequel to the hit thriller Twister is finally in the works.
Universal Studios and Steven Spielberg’s production company Amblin Entertainment are currently developing the film, currently titled Twisters, according to Deadline.
The original disaster film, directed by Speed’s Jan de Bont and written by Jurassic Park novelist Michael Crichton and Anne-Marie Martin, became the second-highest-grossing film of 1996.
Back for more: Universal and Amblin Entertainment are developing a sequel to the 1996 hit Twister movie, titled Twisters, Deadline reported Tuesday.
Twisters is written by Mark L. Smith, who previously penned the Leonardo DiCaprio-starring survival film The Revenant, which won the actor his Oscar.
The film is expected to be a big-budget sequel, with Universal reportedly sharing funding for the film with Warner Bros., though Universal is in charge of the creative details.
The film starred Helen Hunt as Dr. Jo Thornton, a meteorologist who studies tornadoes after suffering a family tragedy linked to one, and Bill Paxton as Dr. Bill Harding, who previously studied tornadoes with her. .
At the start of Twister, which also features Philip Seymour Hoffman and Cary Elwes, among others, Bill is separated from Jo and has become engaged, but he meets her in the middle of his tornado tracking to get her to sign their divorce papers.
It’s a hit: The original disaster film, directed by Speed’s Jan de Bont and written by Jurassic Park novelist Michael Crichton and Anne-Marie Martin, became the second-highest-grossing film of 1996; Helen Hunt and Bill Paxton seen in Twister
Pedigree: Twisters is written by Mark L. Smith, who previously penned the Leonardo DiCaprio-starring survival film The Revenant, which won the actor his Oscar; seen in 2015
Original Twister star Bill Paxton died in 2017 following emergency heart surgery, but Universal hopes to bring 59-year-old Helen Hunt back to the project.
The new film will apparently focus on a grown child that Hunt and Paxton’s characters had, who has since followed them on the hunt for storms.
According to Deadline, original Twister producer Steven Spielberg was a fan enough of Smith’s new script to be able to fast-track the sequel.
Comeback: Original Twister star Bill Paxton died in 2017 following emergency heart surgery, but Universal hopes to bring 59-year-old Helen Hunt back to the project; seen in march
Joseph Kosinski, who directed Top Gun: Maverick, currently the highest-grossing film of 2022, was originally slated to direct, but has since left the project to direct a Formula 1 racing film starring Brad Pitt.
Dan Trachtenberg, who directed the popular Predator prequel Prey and 10 Cloverfield Lane, is reportedly up for the director role, despite claiming on Twitter that he’s not making a Twister sequel.
Elizabeth Chai Vaserhelyi and Jimmy Chin, who directed the jaw-dropping rock climbing documentary Free Solo, are also in the running, as is Travis Knight, who directed the animated film Kubo And The Two Strings and the Transformers prequel. Bumblebee.
Other filmmakers may be in discussion.
Next Generation: The new film will focus on the child of meteorologists played by Paxton and Hunt. Paxton passed away in 2017, but the studio hopes to bring Hunt back; always from Twister
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